The Unrestrained Joy of Our Salvation in Christ

 “Let them praise his name in the dance: Let them sing praises unto him with the timbrel and harp. For the LORD taketh pleasure in his people: He will beautify the meek with salvation.”

‭‭Psalm‬ ‭149‬:‭3‬-‭4‬ ‭KJV‬‬

This is a Hallelujah psalm sung when the second temple was inaugurated.  “Break forth with dancing! Make music and sing God’s praises with the rhythm of drums! For He enjoys His faithful lovers. He adorns the humble with His beauty, and He loves to give them victory.”  Dancing,making music and singing, is connected with unrestrained joy.  Unrestrained joy is a profound exuberant, spiritual response to God’s Presence, salvation, and blessings, transcending circumstances to become a "joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory". It is an outward expression of an inward reality, a dance of victory in God’s Presence.  These expressions of joy are the dancing, shouting, singing, praising and laughing.  It was seen in David dancing with all his might when bringing the ark of the covenant to Jerusalem; and the Magi upon seeing the star “rejoiced exceedingly with great joy".  As Luke tells us, “ Then the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told them.”  Jesus Himself said, “How content you become when you weep with complete brokenness, for you will laugh with unrestrained joy.”  In the new covenant we are commanded to rejoice and again to rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory.  Let the salvation we have personally experienced, not be covered up with religious duty, but let the source of our joy be anchored in the Lord’s Presence, His glorious salvation, and His goodness, rather than external circumstances.  Amen!

Jesus Christ Heals Even Today

 “And they bring unto him one that was deaf, and had an impediment in his speech; and they beseech him to put his hand upon him. And he took him aside from the multitude, and put his fingers into his ears, and he spit, and touched his tongue; and looking up to heaven, he sighed, and saith unto him, Ephphatha, that is, Be opened. And straightway his ears were opened, and the string of his tongue was loosed, and he spake plain. And he charged them that they should tell no man: but the more he charged them, so much the more a great deal they published it; and were beyond measure astonished, saying, He hath done all things well: he maketh both the deaf to hear, and the dumb to speak.”

‭‭Mark‬ ‭7‬:‭32‬-‭37‬ ‭KJV‬‬

Mark recorded, “Some people brought to Him a deaf man with a severe speech impediment. They pleaded with Jesus to place His hands on him and heal him. So Jesus led him away from the crowd to a private spot. Then He stuck His fingers into the man’s ears and placed some of His saliva on the man’s tongue. Then He gazed into heaven, sighed deeply, and spoke to the man’s ears and tongue, “Ethpathakh,” which is Aramaic for “Open up, now!” At once the man’s ears opened and he could hear perfectly, and his tongue was untied and he began to speak normally. Jesus ordered everyone to keep this miracle a secret, but the more He told them not to, the more the news spread! The people were absolutely beside themselves and astonished beyond measure. And they began to declare, “Everything He does is wonderful! He even makes the deaf hear and the mute speak!”  Jesus led the man away from the unbelief of the people around, to work His miracle and healed him with His saliva.   (Later, the wicked people would spit on Jesus in public.)  Jesus then told the man not to tell others, but he did.  Now Jesus tells us to spread the good news, and we don’t.  Let’s love Jesus and obey Him.  Amen!

All Creation & All the Earth Declares Christ’s Glory

 “He hath also stablished them for ever and ever: He hath made a decree which shall not pass. Praise the LORD from the earth, Ye dragons, and all deeps:”

‭‭Psalm‬ ‭148‬:‭6‬-‭7‬ ‭KJV‬‬

A Hallelujah psalm to commemorate the building of the second temple, “He established the cosmos to last forever, and He stands behind His commands so His orders will never be revoked. Let the earth join in with this parade of praise! You mighty creatures of the ocean’s depths, echo in exaltation!”  All creation is beautiful to God and Jesus the Lord of all creation towers above it, for all things exist through Him and for Him. And that God made Him, pioneer of our salvation, perfect through His sufferings, for this is how He brings many sons and daughters to share in His glory. In fact, all creation is eagerly waiting for God to show who His children are.  At the end, all creatures in heaven, on earth, under the earth, and on the sea will be speaking. The whole creation will speak, “Praise and honour belong to the One who sits on the throne and to the Lamb! Glory and power belong to God for ever and ever!”  Whenever we praise Him, we join with all creation even the dragons in the deep - all creation - to praise Him for ever. There is  salvation in no other, for there is no other name under heaven except the Name of Jesus.  All heavens declare His glory.  Amen!

It’s All About the Lord Jesus Christ Only!

 “And he could there do no mighty work, save that he laid his hands upon a few sick folk, and healed them. And he marvelled because of their unbelief. And he went round about the villages, teaching. And he called unto him the twelve, and began to send them forth by two and two; and gave them power over unclean spirits;”

‭‭Mark‬ ‭6‬:‭5‬-‭7‬ ‭KJV‬‬

As Mark recorded, “He was unable to do any great miracle in Nazareth, except to heal a few sick people by laying His hands upon them. He was amazed at the depth of their unbelief! Then Jesus went out into the different villages and taught the people. Jesus gathered His twelve disciples and imparted to them His authority to cast out demons. Then He sent them out in pairs with these instructions:”.  Nazareth was the only place recorded in the Gospels that Jesus was unable to do miracles because of their unbelief.  This is one of the two instances where Jesus was amazed at the response of faith - here it is the total lack of faith, unbelief in fact.  In another place, an unbeliever, the Roman centurion, who recognised Jesus’s authority and showed great faith in Jesus’s Word, amazed Jesus.  In Jesus’s hometown, Nazareth, the people knew Jesus as He grew there, but this familiarity stopped them from believing in Him.  There is no record of Jesus ever returning to Nazareth.  He made Capernaum His base of ministry while in Galilee.  Jesus’s response to unbelief was to teach His disciples to impart to them His authority so that the Gospel would extend to every part to bring the Kingdom of God.  Today’s Christian preachers and teachers respond to the Gospel with that same familiar spirit and start making disciples for their own ministry or denomination, and lack the power of God unto salvation.  Let’s take Jesus at His Word and teach and preach to others to make 
Jesus known and make disciples for Him and build people up for the extension of God’s Kingdom.  It’s all about the Lord Jesus Christ ONLY.  Amen!

Repent of Unbelief

 “He healeth the broken in heart, And bindeth up their wounds. He telleth the number of the stars; He calleth them all by their names. Great is our Lord, and of great power: His understanding is infinite.”

‭‭Psalm‬ ‭147‬:‭3‬-‭5‬ ‭KJV‬‬

A Hallelujah psalm written to commemorate the rebuilding of the temple.  “He heals the wounds of every shattered heart. He sets His stars in place, calling them all by their names. How great is our God! There’s absolutely nothing His power cannot accomplish, and He has infinite understanding of everything.”  This is how the old covenant psalmist saw God, as One Who is great and Who heals the broken-hearted.  The God Who knows every precise movement of the stars in the universe, is our God Who loves us and redeemed us.  It is our unbelief that stops us from knowing God in His power.  Jesus said clearly, “The world's sin is unbelief in Me.”  Let’s fix our gaze on the simultaneous kindness and strict justice of God. How severely He treated those who fell into unbelief! Yet how tender and kind is His relationship with us. Let’s keep on trusting in His kindness; otherwise, we also will be cut off. Let us labour therefore to enter into the rest that Christ won for us through the Cross, and let’s repent of every form of unbelief.  Amen!

He Is El Elyon - God Most High

 “But when he saw Jesus afar off, he ran and worshipped him, and cried with a loud voice, and said, What have I to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of the most high God? I adjure thee by God, that thou torment me not. For he said unto him, Come out of the man, thou unclean spirit. And he asked him, What is thy name? And he answered, saying, My name is Legion: for we are many.”

‭‭Mark‬ ‭5‬:‭6‬-‭9‬ ‭KJV‬‬

As Mark recorded, “When he saw Jesus from a distance, he ran to Him and threw himself down before Him, shouting at the top of his lungs, “Leave me alone, Jesus, Son of the Most High God! Swear in God’s name that You won’t torture me!” (For Jesus had already said to him, “Come out of that man, you demon spirit!”) Jesus said to him, “What is your name?” “Mob,” he answered. “They call me Mob because there are thousands of us in his body!” The demons always recognised Jesus as God’s Son.  God is the Most High as Melchizedek the priest of El Elyon blessed Abram, “He spoke over him a special blessing, saying, “Blessed is Abram by God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth. And blessed be God Most High, whose power delivered your enemies into your hands!”  There is no one higher than our God. Knowing this the devil tried hard to get Jesus to worship him, ““All of these kingdoms I will give to You,” the accuser said, “if only You will kneel down before me and worship me.” But Jesus said, “Go away, satan! For the Scriptures say: Kneel before the Lord your God and worship only Him.” At once the accuser left Him, and angels suddenly gathered around Jesus to minister to Him. Jesus made a public spectacle of all the powers and principalities of darkness, stripping away from them every weapon and all their spiritual authority and power to accuse us. And by the power of the Cross, Jesus led them around as prisoners in a procession of triumph. He was not their prisoner; they were His!  Hallelujah!

Let the Church Do What the Lord Jesus Christ Does

 “The LORD openeth the eyes of the blind: The LORD raiseth them that are bowed down: The LORD loveth the righteous: The LORD preserveth the strangers; He relieveth the fatherless and widow: But the way of the wicked he turneth upside down.”

‭‭Psalm‬ ‭146‬:‭8‬-‭9‬ ‭KJV‬‬

This is the first of the Hallelujah psalms and is attributed to the prophets Haggai and Zechariah at the dedication of the second temple after the return from exile, completing the last five psalms of the book of psalms in Scripture.  “You open the eyes of the blind, and You fully restore those bent over with shame. You love those who love and honor You. You watch over strangers and immigrants and support the fatherless and widows. But You subvert the plans of the ungodly.”  The Lord Jesus had spoken this at the synagogue, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, Because He has anointed Me To preach the Gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives And recovery of sight to the blind, To set at liberty those who are oppressed; To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.”  This is the mandate to the Church today to fulfil what the Lord Jesus spoke then and take the help of the Holy Spirit for this.  Let’s do it.  Amen!

Revelations in Our Quiet Time with Christ

 “but when it is sown, it groweth up, and becometh greater than all herbs, and shooteth out great branches; so that the fowls of the air may lodge under the shadow of it. And with many such parables spake he the word unto them, as they were able to hear it. But without a parable spake he not unto them: and when they were alone, he expounded all things to his disciples.”

‭‭Mark‬ ‭4‬:‭32‬-‭34‬ ‭KJV‬‬

As Mark wrote, “yet when it springs up and grows, it becomes the largest plant in the garden, with so many large spreading branches, even birds can nest in its shade.” Jesus used many parables such as these as He taught the people, and they learned according to their ability to understand. He never spoke to them without using parables, but would wait until He was alone with His  disciples to explain to them their meanings.”  This parable describes the growth of God’s Kingdom.  It may appear in the beginning as small and insignificant, but it will grow until it becomes the greatest Kingdom of all.  God’s Kingdom is growing on the earth and not diminishing.  God spoke through the prophet Ezekiel, “Lord Yahweh says: “I will take the highest branch from a cedar tree. I will break off from the very top a tender shoot and plant it Myself on a high and lofty mountain. I will plant it on the highest mountain in Israel, where it will put out branches and bear fruit and grow into a stately cedar tree. Every kind of bird will find a home in it. Yes, in the shade of its branches the birds will make their nests. And all the trees of the field will know that I, Yahweh, Am the One Who brings the tall tree low and raises the low tree high, Who withers the green tree and makes the withered tree sprout again. I, Yahweh, have spoken.”  Jesus still delights to mystify those who follow Him, but He waits until we are alone with Him, and then He reveals the wonders of His grace and truth to our hearts.  Let’s spend time alone with our Lord Jesus to receive the mysteries of His Kingdom.  Amen!

His Mighty Power to Raise Christ from the Dead

 “Thy kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, And thy dominion endureth throughout all generations. The LORD upholdeth all that fall, And raiseth up all those that be bowed down.”

‭‭Psalm‬ ‭145‬:‭13‬-‭14‬ ‭KJV‬‬

David wrote on the greatness of God, “You are the Lord who reigns over your never-ending kingdom through all the ages of time and eternity! You are faithful to fulfill every promise you’ve made. You manifest yourself as kindness in all you do. Weak and feeble ones you will sustain. Those bent over with burdens of shame you will lift up.”  David lived centuries before the Gospel of grace was revealed yet he had a personal revelation of the greatness of God’s grace because of his relationship with Him.  Even though David was king, he knew that it was God Who ruled Israel through him.  When he made mistakes and fell, David repented and turned to God Who picked him up and raised him.  David recognised that it was only the greatness of God Who raised him up from a shepherd boy to being the king of Israel.  In the new covenant, Paul explains the greatness of God, “I pray that you will continually experience the immeasurable greatness of God’s power made available to you through faith. Then your lives will be an advertisement of this immense power as it works through you! This is the mighty power that was released when God raised Christ from the dead and exalted Him to the place of highest honor and supreme authority in the heavenly realm!”  May we never downgrade the greatness of God revealed to us believers through our Lord Jesus Christ.  Amen!

God’s Love Brings Purpose to Our Existence

 “and to have power to heal sicknesses, and to cast out devils: and Simon he surnamed Peter;”

‭‭Mark‬ ‭3‬:‭15‬-‭16‬ ‭KJV‬‬

As Mark recorded, “and have authority to heal the sick and to cast out demons. He appointed his Twelve and gave Simon the nickname Peter the Rock.”  These twelve disciples served God’s Kingdom, became apostles or “sent ones” and the Jesus chose seventy more to preach the Gospel.  None of them were fully mature or equipped for the Holy Spirit had not yet come to empower them.  Disciples are raised that they may walk continuously with Jesus; preaching with the genuine love for others preaching the truth of God’s Word and walking in the power to heal and cast out demons.  Today, this is the same that the Lord Jesus requires from His disciples.   Leaders today need to raise up others and not centre their ministry around themselves. The legacy of a spiritual leader is made up of those whom he or she has released and sent forth to proclaim Christ.  Following Jesus means living out the purpose for which He created each one.  By giving Simon the new name “Peter”, Jesus gave him the purpose of his existence, having a strong, rock-like faith, even though He knew Peter would deny Him later!  Such is the love that Jesus has for each one of us that He puts His confidence in us.  Thank You, Lord!